Monday, December 9, 2013

WEDDING: The Ceremony

Before I start, I just want to say an incredible thank you to all of you who read my post last night - and who took the time to comment, message and email. It was hard to post - and I almost didn't post it. In fact, last week I went to post it and deleted it because I didn't know how it would be accepted. There has been a little backlash, but an overwhelming outpouring of love - and I cannot thank you enough.

The amount of people who read that post in just a few hours is astounding - and the sheer number of you who got in touch with us was incredible. Jesse and I went to bed last night with a smile on our face, reading all of your comments and being so incredibly thankful for every single one of you. Many of you commented or emailed for the first time ever, despite being a reader for a while and we really hope to see more comments from you around - don't be shy! We love getting to know SIL readers, since you already know so much about us!

If you read last night's post, you'd know that getting married in a traditional church ceremony was incredibly important to me - and whilst at first, it wasn't so important to Jesse (he just wanted to marry me), it was something that became important for him too.

The church we chose was St Paul's Anglican Church at Burwood - the church where my parents were married years before and the church where my sister and I were Christened as babies. It's a beautiful old sandstone church with stained glass windows - and I wish I had pictures of those details, but maybe someday I'll have to go back and take those photos myself.

I always thought I'd be a nervous bride, but I was totally the opposite. I knew what I was doing - I was about to marry my best friend and the love of my life. The only anxiety I had on the day was excited anxiety because I just wanted time to hurry up so I could finally see Jesse.

After heading from my Aunty's house to the Church in our beautiful car, it was time to go... well... almost.

In true Kristy fashion, I was early. I may have been one of the only brides in the world to be early on her wedding day, but that's how "Kristy time" works. "Kristy time" is what I usually function on - I arrive early to everything and can't stand being even a minute late. We had to wait outside the church until everything was ready for us.

It wasn't until I stepped up to the threshold of that door that my heart started beating. I could feel it in my chest, my hands, my arms, my legs - I could hear it - but it wasn't an anxious pounding. It was an excited pounding - like I was waiting for something incredible to happen... well, because I was.

I remember thinking This is happening. This is real. We're really doing this. This day has finallycome.

Jesse didn't actually turn around and look at me until I got to the veeeeery end of the aisle. All of our family and friends thought it was funny because I was fixed on Jesse, but you could tell he didn't know if he was allowed to turn around - and then he did.

One of the first things I did when I got to Jesse was grab his hand.

I rarely took my eyes of Jesse throughout the entire ceremony - I couldn't believe that I was finally marrying my best friend.

Apart from our vows, one of the highlights of our reception wasn't actually captured. My favourite little 3 year old princess came running down the aisle, grabbed my hand and said "Kristy, you look so beautiful" and my heart absolutely melted (and so did everyone elses!).

We included one of my favourite verses in our ceremony as well and it fitted perfectly. We of course included the traditional verses in our ceremony as well and Ephesians 5:31 was very fitting for us: "For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh".

It was a traditional ceremony with a few untraditional touches - like the fact that it was Skyped to friends and family across multiple continents!

Father James also asked Jesse to say "Jesse, with this ring" and I looked at him a little funny thinking "I thought Jesse was giving me the right... wait... he is" and then he realised what he'd said and everyone had a little chuckle. That's when Jesse's nerves totally wiped - and you can see by the smile on his face.

And then, after what felt like forever and a day - I was finally Mrs Jesse Jones! I love how Father James has a beaming smile in this photo - and he was genuinely happy for us which was so nice.

Then it was time to sign our lives away :P We had my Mum and Dad witness our marriage certificate as we weren't too sure if Wesley was allowed to and my sister was underage. It was also a good way to include them in the ceremony.

And before I knew it, I was walking down the aisle again - but this time, as a wife with my husband - and my heart was about ready to explode with happiness.

But tell me, if you're married - tell me about your ceremony. Did everything go to plan? Were you cool as a cucumber or a nervous Nelly?

If you're not yet married, what kind of a ceremony do you think you'll go for?

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I'm Kristy, twenty-four, a coeliac and married to my very own Southern Gentleman. We've gone from 10,000 miles apart to right beside one another - finally home in Australia together.

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